Tamper-proof ticket holder for commuter seat

ABSTRACT

Tamper-proof ticket holder for commuter seat comprises a ticketengaging element protectively enclosed within the backrest of the commuter seat, a slot in the rear wall of the commuter seat for receiving the ticket, and guide means for directing a ticket, inserted in the slot, toward the engaging element.

United States Patent Hultquist 5] Mar. 7, 1972 221 Filed:

[54] TAMPER-PROOF TICKET HOLDER FOR COMMUTER SEAT [72] Inventor: Gordon W. IIultquist, Chicago, Ill.

[73] Assignee: Coach and Car Equipment Corporation,

Elk Grove Village, 111.

Aug. 19, 1970 21 Appl.No.: 64,941

52] user ..297/194,24s/314 51 mm A47c7/62 [58] FleldoISearch ..297/191, 188, 163,146; 232/33; 24/255 BS; 296/37 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,263,063 11/1941 Allen ..293/54 D 2,339,187 1/1944 Pain ..248/314 3,479,085 11/1969 Weinstein ..297/ 191 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,541,412 8/1968 France ..297/191 275,377 8/1951 Switzerland ..248/314 Primary Examiner-James T. McCall AttorneyMerriam, Marshall, Shapiro & Klose {57] ABSTRACT Tamper-proof ticket holder for commuter seat comprises a ticket-engaging element protectively enclosed within the backrest of the commuter seat, a slot in the rear wall of the commuter seat for receiving the ticket, and guide means for directing a ticket, inserted in the slot, toward the engaging element.

9 Claims, 6 Drawlng Figures TAMPER-PROOF TICKET HOLDER FOR COMMUTER SEAT BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to ticket holders for commuter seats and more particularly to a tamper-proof ticket holder which is protectively enclosed to prevent such tampering with the ticket holder as would cause it to loosen and drop a ticket intended to be held thereby.

Passengers travelling on commuter railways or rapid transit cars are often provided with tickets which must be visually displayed for inspection or punching or collection by the railway car conductor. It has been conventional to provide, on the back of the seat in front of a given passenger, a ticket holder for displaying the ticket. Conventional ticket holders are eliplike devices comprising a strip of spring steel having one end riveted or otherwise fastened to the seat back. The ticket is conventionally slipped under the unriveted end and is supposed to be held in place by the springable nature of the clip.

Oftentimes, however, the clip is too tight to insert the ticket thereunder, and the passenger, in order to loosen the clip, may manually pry it outwardly. This may unduly deform or distort the clip so that the ticket cannot be tightly held and can easily drop onto the floor of the railway car. The clip is also exposed to indiscriminate tampering by any occupant of the railway car, as a result of which the clips are often deformed or broken or sufficiently loosened that they cannot be effectively used to hold tickets.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a tamper-proof ticket holder located on the back rest of a seat in a railway car. The rear wall of the back rest has a slotlike opening through which a ticket is inserted. Located inside the back rest and aligned with the slot, is a ticket-engaging element which, being enclosed within the back rest, is protected from tampering. Guide means are provided on either the rear wall of the backrest or on the engaging element itself to assist in directing a ticket, inserted through the slot, into a position where it is engaged by the engaging element. The ticket is held by the engaging element in a position where it may be readily observed by the railway car conductor, and the ticket may be readily removed for punching or collection by the conductor.

In some embodiments, the engaging element is composed of material which is relatively soft compared to the spring steel of which conventional clip-type ticket holders are composed, and thus will not mar, tear or cut the ticket, as could happen with conventional spring steel ticket holders.

Because the protectively enclosed engaging element is relatively tamper-proof, it is less likely to become deformed or distorted, and replacement and maintenance costs, especially labor, are minimized.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective showing the backrest of a commuter seat having a tamper-proof ticket holder in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view illustrating an embodiment of the ticket holder with a ticket about to be inserted;

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view of the embodiment of FIG. 2 with a ticket engaged by the ticket holder;

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view of another embodiment of the ticket holder;

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view of a further embodiment of the ticket holder; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective of the embodiment of FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring initially to FIGS. 1-3, illustrated generally at 10 is a backrest for a commuter seat. Backrest 10 includes a rear wall 12 removably mounted on a frame 11. Backrest 10 has an opening 13 for receiving a ticket 14; and protectively enclosed inside backrest 12 is a ticket-engaging element, indicated generally at 20, aligned with opening 13 and comprising means for engaging a front portion of a ticket 14 inserted through opening 13. Ticket-engaging element 20 releasably holds ticket 14 in a supported position with the rear portion of the ticket located on the outside of backrest 10, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3.

Opening 13 is in the form of a slot having a relatively narrow vertical dimension but elongated in a direction extending between opposite sides 15 of backrest 10 (FIG. 1).

Backrest rear wall 12 includes guide means 16 aligned with opening 13 for directing a ticket 14 toward ticket-engaging element 20. Guide means 16 comprises inwardly converging wallportions located above and below the opening 13.

Ticket holder 20 is composed of resilient material and has a slit 21 aligned with opening 13 in rear wall 12. Slit 21 is defined by upper and lower walls or surfaces 22, 23 constituting means for engaging ticket 13 and for holding the ticket in the supported position illustrated in FIG. 3.

As shown in FIG. 2, upper and lower slit walls 22, 23 are normally in a contracted condition in which the walls are relatively close together, and in which they actually contact each other in the embodiment of FIG. 2, when not engaging a ticket. Slit walls 22, 23 are sufficiently close together, and the resilient material of which element 20 is composed is sufficiently pliable, so that when ticket 14 is directed into slit 21, at least the front portions of slit walls 22, 23 are spread apart, as illustrated in FIG. 3. When ticket 14 is removed from slit 21, the resiliency of element 20 returns slit walls 22, 23 to their normal contracted condition, illustrated in FIG. 2.

Referring now to the embodiment of ticket holder illustrated in FIG. 4, this embodiment is similar to that illustrated in FIGS. 1-3 except that it does not have guide means 16 built into the rear wall 12 of the backrest. Instead, guide means 36 are formed integral with the engaging element 30. Guide means 36 comprises inwardly converging surfaces, on the rear portion of engaging element 30, aligned with opening 33 in backrest l2 and extending from opening 33 toward slit 31 of engaging element 30 for directing a ticket toward slid 3|. Slit 31 is constructed essentially the same as slit 21 in the embodiment of FIGS. 1-3, and operates in essentially the same manner.

Referring now to the embodiment of ticket holder shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the engaging element 40 comprises a flange portion 44 attached to the inner surface of rear wall 12 and a web portion 46 extending inwardly from flange portion 44 and containing a slit 41. Rear wall 12 is provided with guide means 16 aligned with opening 13 for directing a ticket toward slit 4] in engaging element 40. As an alternative, guide means 16 may be dispensed with (as in the embodiment of FIG. 4) and engaging element 40 may be provided with guide means 47, on flange portion 44, and aligned with opening 13 in rear wall 12 of the backrest.

Typically, engaging elements 20 (FIGS. 1-3) and 30 (FIG. 4) are composed of rubber or like material; and engaging element 40 (FIG. 5) is composed of a resilient plastic material. In all the illustrated embodiments the engaging element has essentially the elastic characteristics of rubber.

The engaging element may be attached to the inner surface of the rear wall 12 of the backrest, as illustrated in the drawings, or it may be attached, in a conventional manner, to the frame 11 on which the rear wall 12 of the backrest is removably mounted.

The foregoing detailed description has been given for clearness of understanding only, and no unnecessary limitations should be understood therefrom, as modifications will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:

1. In a commuter seat:

a backrest with a rear wall having an opening for receiving a ticket;

means inside said backrest, aligned with said opening, for engaging a front portion of a received ticket and for releasably holding said received ticket in a supported position with a rear portion of the ticket located on the outside of the backrest;

and means on said backrest protectively enclosing said engaging means to prevent tampering therewith.

2. In a commuter seat as recited in claim 1:

guide means, aligned with said opening, for directing a ticket toward said engaging means.

3. In a commuter seat as recited in claim 2 wherein:

said opening in the rear wall of the backrest is elongated in a direction extending between the sides of the seat;

and said guide means comprises inwardly converging wall portions above and below said elongated opening.

4. In a commuter seat as recited in claim 1 wherein said engaging means comprises:

an element composed of resilient material and having a slit aligned with said opening in the rear wall of said backrest;

said slit being defined by upper and lower walls constituting said means for engaging said ticket and for holding said ticket in said supported position.

5. In a commuter seat as recited in claim 4 wherein:

said upper and lower walls of said slit are normally in a contracted condition, in which said walls are relatively close together, when not engaging a ticket;

said walls of the slit being sufficiently close together and being composed of material which causes them to spread apart in response to insertion of a ticket in the slit and to resiliently return to their normal contracted condition in response to removal of a ticket from the slit.

6. In a commuter seat as recited in claim 4 wherein said engaging element comprises:

a flange portion attached to the inner surface of the rear wall of the backrest;

a web portion extending frontwardly from said flange portion and containing said slit;

and guide means on said flange portion, aligned with said opening in the rear wall of the backrest, for directing a ticket toward said slit in the engaging element.

7. In a commuter seat as recited in claim 4 wherein:

said engaging element is a block of material having the elastic characteristics of rubber.-

8. In a commuter seat as recited in claim 7:

said opening in the rear wall of the backrest is elongated in a direction extending between the sides of the seat;

and guide means on said rear wall, aligned with said opening, for directing a ticket toward said slit in the engaging element;

said guide means comprising inwardly converging wall portions above and below said elongated opening in the rear wall.

9. In a commuter seat as recited in claim 7:

said opening in the rear wall of the backrest is elongated in a direction extending between the sides of the seat;

and guide means on the rear portion of the engaging element, aligned with said opening, for directing a ticket toward said slit in the engaging element;

said guide means comprising inwardly converging surface portions on the engaging element extending from said opening toward said slit. 

1. In a commuter seat: a backrest with a rear wall having an opening for receiving a ticket; means inside said backrest, aligned with said opening, for engaging a front portion of a received ticket and for releasably holding said received ticket in a supported position with a rear portion of the ticket located on the outside of the backrest; and means on said backrest protectively enclosing said engaging means to prevent tampering therewith.
 2. In a commuter seat as recited in claim 1: guide means, aligned with said opening, for directing a ticket toward said engaging means.
 3. In a commuter seat as recited in claim 2 wherein: said opening in the rear wall of the backrest is elongated in a direction extending between the sides of the seat; and said guide means comprises inwardly converging wall portions above and below said elongated opening.
 4. In a commuter seat as recited in claim 1 wherein said engaging means comprises: an element composed of resilient material and having a slit aligned with said opening in the rear wall of said backrest; said slit being defined by upper and lower walls constituting said means for engaging said ticket and for holding said ticket in said supported position.
 5. In a commuter seat as recited in claim 4 wherein: said upper and lower walls of said slit are normally in a contracted condition, in which said walls are relatively close together, when not engaging a ticket; said walls of the slit being sufficiently close together and being composed of material which causes them to spread apart in response to insertion of a ticket in the slit and to resiliently return to their normal contracted condition in response to removal of a ticket from the slit.
 6. In a commuter seat as recited in claim 4 wherein said engaging element comprises: a flange portion attached to the inner surface of the rear wall of the backrest; a web portion extending frontwardly from said flange portion and containing said slit; and guide means on said flange portion, aligned with said opening in the rear wall of the backrest, for directing a ticket toward said slit in the engaging element.
 7. In a commuter seat as recited in claim 4 wherein: said engaging element is a block of material having the elastic characteristics of rubber.
 8. In a commuter seat as recited in claim 7: said opening in the rear wall of the backrest is elongated in a direction extending between the sides of the seat; and guide means on said rear wall, aligned with said opening, for directing a ticket toward said slit in the engaging element; said guide means comprising inwardly converging wall portions above and below said elongated opening in the rear wall.
 9. In a commuter seat as recited in claim 7: said opening in the rear wall of the backrest is elongated in a direction extending between the sides of the seat; and guide means on the rear portion of the engaging element, aligned with said opening, for directing a ticket toward said slit in the engaging element; said guide means comprising inwardly converging surface portions on the engaging element extending from said opening toward said slit. 